Happy Birthday Blake!

I hope you have wonderful day! This is one of my favorite photos of you! I hope you have as much fun this year on your special day has it looks like you are having in this picture! :)

Love Your Favorite Sister!

Knit Two...

I read most of the weekend. I went to the book store on Saturday afternoon. This book is the second in a series...I don't know how many more the author is planning to write but I hope there are more to come. Kate Jacobs is on her way to being at the top of my list of favorite authors. Of course she will be sharing that place with Nicholas Sparks.

Anyway back to the book. The first book was The Friday Night Knitting Club. The books are about a group of women that become friends because of their love of knitting and the time they spend together knitting on Friday nights obviously. When I read The Friday Night Knitting Club and this weekend when I read Knit Two I had the urge to learn to knit. I still might.

Kate Jacobs also has one more book that I haven't read. That books is called Comfort Food. If anyone has read Comfort Food let me know. That will probably be the next book I read when I have a weekend that I can spend reading.

Pictures Of The Snow...

It snowed sometime between 11pm and 12am on Saturday night. I stayed up late on Saturday night reading. I think it snowed again very early morning on Sunday. Some places in Tennessee got 10 inches of snow....just about 100 miles west of Franklin.

This tree is right in front of my window...I like it because when I have my window open the people across can't see straight into my apartment.

I didn't see any snowmen or anyone playing in the snow in Franklin...I don't think there was quite enough.

A Rainy Saturday...

It is a rainy day here in Franklin. It's suppose to rain ALL DAY. It is a perfect day to lay on the couch, read a book or watch a movie!

There is a chance of snow this afternoon! I'm so ready for spring...hopefullyit is on the way!

HOW ARKANSAS ARE YOU?!?!?!

Have you ever:

1. Mined for diamonds or crystals?

2. Visited Petit Jean's grave?

3. Been to the Wye Mtn Daffodil Festival, the Pink Tomato Festival, or Toadsuck Daze?

4. Been to PortFest, the White River Water Carnival, or the Arkansas Scottish Festival?

5. Been to the King Biscuit Blues Festival, the Delta Blues Symposium, or Ding Dong Daddy Days in Dumas?

6. Been to the Loose Caboose Festival in Paragould, or Railroad Days in McGehee?

7. Been to the World Championship Duck-calling Contest in Stuttgart, or the Purple Hull Pea Festival and World Championship Rotary Tiller Race in Emerson?

8. Been to the Gillett Coon Supper, the Oyster Supper in Slovak, or the Tollville Turkey Fry?

9. Been to Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, Old Fort Smith, or Historic Washington State Park?

10. Been to the Old State House and the State Capitol?

11. Visited the Clinton Presidential Library?

12. Shook hands with Bill (Clinton)?

13. Been to the Old Mill in North Little Rock?

14. Walked down Bathhouse Row?

15. Stayed at The Arlington?

16. Window-shopped in Eureka Springs?

17. Been to the Great Passion Play and the Christ of the Ozarks?

18. Been caving at Devil's Den or Blanchard Springs?

19. Been dragged behind a boat (preferably on skis or a tube) on Norfork or Greers Ferry?

20. Seen Mammoth Spring?

21. Floated Spring River?

22. Window-shopped in Old Hardy Town?

23. Been to the bluffs in Calico Rock?

24. Been to the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View?

25. Floated the Buffalo?

26. Been to the top of Mount Magazine?

27. Driven on the Pig Trail?

28. Gotten lost and wound up in Greasy Corners, Possum Grape, Oil Trough, Bug Scuffle, or Beaveroma?

29. Been to Big Flat, Ash Flat, Bald Knob, Velvet Ridge or Greasy Bottom?

30. Been to Turkey Scratch (home of Levon Helm), Fifty-Six, Evening Shade, Marble Falls, Success, Marked Tree, Bauxite, Box Springs, Little Dixie, Mount Ida , Cherry Valley, Beaver, or Snowball?

31. Worked for Tyson, Wal-Mart, JB Hunt, Acxiom, ABF, Alltel, Candy Bouquet, Dillard's, Murphy Oil, Riceland, or Shake's Frozen Custard?

32. Called the Hogs?

33. Done the Indian war cry, sang the Indian Fight Song, or tomahawk-chopped to "Cherokee"?
34. Seen Chief Big Track ride his horse down the sidelines or around the field after a touchdown?
35. Been to the Bono Bridge and waited for a train?

36. Been to the races at George Ray's Dragstrip?

37. Driven to Weiner, Harrisburg, Trumann, Paragould, Thayer, Cardwell, Newport, Morrilton wherever "the Line" is where you are...for beer.

38. Eaten frog legs or crawdads?

39. Been swimming somewhere known to be infested by water moccasins?

40. Dropped into a "swimmin' hole" from a rope swing?

41. Waded barefoot in a creek?

42. Been dangerously close to a copperhead or a cotton mouth?

43. Skipped stones?

44. Hunted for arrowheads?

45. Been lulled to sleep by the sound of whippoorwills?

For each question you answer with a "yes" you get 2 points.

My score: 54!

It's funny! All the ones I answered "yes" to made me laugh or I thought about a really cool (well cool to me) story. SOOOO how Arkansas are you?

Have a great weekend!

Water...

Water is your body's principal chemical component, making up, on average, 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues. Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don't have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.

Well this week I am making an effort to increase my water intake...I usually have something to drink sitting at my desk...most of the time is it water...however I seldom drink the "recommended daily amount" - eight - 8 oz glasses of fluids. This week I'm making sure before I leave to go home each day I have had that much water.

Don't get me wrong I'm like Cliff Huxtable (The Cosby Show)..."I want something with bubbles"...but I'm making sure that I get PLENTY of water this week. I think I feel better drinking that much water but I'll keep you posted.

Today's Devotional - Proverbs 31...

I get these devotionals everyday from Proverbs 31...they are there waiting for me every morning in my email in box. I won't go into too much details on this one...not really quite ready to be that transparent. This devotion is geared towards married women and protecting their marriages...but for all women it is important to protect your hearts. I think..actually I know that emotional affairs are very damaging to all parties involved. I could go on for MANY more posts and maybe someday I will but for now here's the devo.

An Emotional Affair
26 Feb 2009
Lysa TerKeurst

A few years ago, I watched a friend get tangled up in an emotional affair. She was a strong Christian woman who loved her family but the attraction to this other man seemed unavoidable. She tried to talk herself out of it but her heart played tricks on her mind, and the justifications for letting things continue down this path soon led her to a very dangerous place. She was becoming emotionally attached to this other man.

In a moment of desperation and fear, she confided in me what was going on. As she described how she got pulled into this place, I found myself being challenged by the realization of how subtly this had happened. She hadn't planned on being emotionally attracted to this other man. As a matter of fact, she'd always prided herself on being a woman of strong conviction and had scoffed at the idea of ever being tempted to have an affair.

It starts off simple enough - his comment that you mull over one too many times, a conversation in which you find a surprising connection, a glance that lingers just a second too long, or one of a thousand other interactions that seem innocent yet aren't. These are the dangerous seeds that can easily sprout into an emotional affair.

Some think it is a safe way to enjoy the lure of being attracted to someone other than your spouse without crossing any lines. But God boldly and plainly says in 1 Corinthians 6:18, "Flee from sexual immorality." God doesn't say walk away from sexual immorality. No, He says to flee as if your very life is at stake! The time to prevent an emotional affair is before it ever starts. For me to rest on my spiritual laurels and think that it could never happen to me, made me a prideful, open target for Satan.

Jesus warned his disciples in Matthew 26:41,"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." The Life Application NIV Bible commentary says, "Jesus used Peter's drowsiness to warn him about the kinds of temptation he would soon face. The way to overcome temptation is to keep watch and pray. Watching means being aware of the possibilities of temptation, sensitive to the subtleties, spiritually equipped to fight it."

Watching: I now realize that I need to be aware that I am just as prone to this temptation as anyone. One of the best ways to be watchful is to be praying with and for my husband. We need to be open and honest about meeting each other's needs and investing wisely in our marriage. If we get into a rough place, we need to be willing to get help. I love the quote, "If you are busy rowing the boat, you won't have time to rock it." The more my husband and I are taking care of each other, the less attractive temptations will seem.

Sensitive to the Subtleties: I will have to be honest with myself that temptations do exist. When another man says or does something I wish my husband would say or do and doesn't, it can make me lessen my husband in my heart and build up this other man. This is a seed of poison. If watered and fed, this seed will sprout and spread and devastate. Seeds seem so small until you realize that within them they contain the potential to become huge. So, I will be steadfast to keep the fertile ground of my heart pure.

Spiritually Equipped: Philippians 4:8 reminds us, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" (NIV). I must park my mind with the truth and the truth is I am married to an amazing man . He is not perfect and sometimes our marriage can be hard, but I made a commitment to Him in a covenant before God and there are no Biblical reasons in our marriage why we should ever part. Therefore, I've made the decision not to part - in big ways or small.

My friend did the wisest but hardest thing she could have done in telling me about her emotional affair. Not only did it help her to see she needed to flee and have someone else hold her accountable, but it also made me aware and alert to the dangers lurking in any kind of unhealthy emotional connection with another man.

Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (NIV)